A project to create a children’s museum is underway in St. Tammany, and organizers anticipate that an upcoming “Black and Gold” fundraiser will take the project a step closer to success. On Nov. 9 school students and workplace employees will have the opportunity to wear their black and gold to both show their “Who Dat” spirit and to contribute to the museum’s building fund, according to Vanessa Mayfield, Children’s Museum Marketing and Communications chair.

Pictured at last year's Black and Gold Day benefiting the Children's Museum of St. Tammany are, from left, Shelby Betbeze, Austin Betbeze and Emily Hosch. This year's fundraiser will be Nov. 9 throughout the north shore.

Students and employees will be invited and allowed to wear black and gold in exchange for a donation of $1 or more, said Ann Habisreitinger Barre, Black and Gold Day chairwoman and Children’s Museum board member. “It’s an opportunity for everyone in our parish to say, ‘I helped to build the Children’s Museum of St. Tammany,’” she said.

But any individuals or businesses may contribute to the fund, Barre said. Anyone who would like to can send a check on or before Nov. 15 to the Children’s Museum of St. Tammany (c/o Black & Gold Day, PO Box 5351, Covington, LA 70434). Donations are tax deductible.

The museum is a signature project of the Junior League of Greater Covington, one which exemplifies that organization’s focus on women building better communities. For them, Mayfield said, “The idea of creating a local museum exclusively for children, to foster the love of learning through exploration, creativity and imagination was exciting.” The project was initiated in 2003.

The idea behind the children’s museum is to create a dramatic, hands-on learning environment, she said. Its exhibits and programs “will be designed to encourage children to make new and surprising discoveries, explore the wonders of the local environment and planet, stimulate creativity and expression, and nurture the desire for life-long learning.”

The museum will be housed in a 20,000-square-foot facility on a 5-acre wooded site just north of Interstate 12, near the Tammany Trace Koop Drive Trailhead. It will be part of a large cultural and family area that includes the Kids Konnection Playground, and Kids Village.

The facility will be designed to appeal to children of all ages, Mayfield said, and will have attractions that directly target the interest of older children, specifically the Art and Science Exhibit.

Preliminary plans and drawings for the project have already been completed by architect Fauntleroy Latham Weldon Barre, and a national search for an exhibit design firm has also been completed, with selections narrowed down to five. Several exhibits have been committed by area businesses and organizations, according to Mayfield.

Projected cost of the Children’s Museum of St.Tammany is $12.5 million. So far, combined efforts of St. Tammany Parish Government, the Junior League of Greater Covington, the Children’s Museum Capital Campaign and an annual fundraising event called Celebration have raised almost $3 million in cash and in-kind commitments to the project’s development, Mayfield said.

Black & Gold Day, now in its third year, previously raised $60,000, and the goal for this year, she said, is to raise a minimum of $30,000.

“Any project of this magnitude takes a considerable amount of time to plan and raise the capital,” said Lisa Barnett, president of the Children’s Museum Board of Trustees, “and emerging museums, on the average, take 9-12 years from planning to opening which confirms that we are on course and moving forward.”

“Now, we are about to embark on the capital campaign and look to the larger dollars for bricks and mortar,” she said. “We want to see the walls begin to go up!”

Referring to the Black & Gold Day, Barnett encouraged everyone to follow the children’s lead. “Children get it,” she said. “They know that when they give that dollar from their allowance or piggy bank, they’re building their own museum. This is such a source of pride for the kids. They’re a part of making this project a reality.”

A website, www.cmstkids.org, is not yet live, but in the meantime, for more information, individuals may visit the Junior League website at jlgc.net and the Children’s Museum Facebook page.